Display case

ABSTRACT

A countertop bulk food display case has a single unitary cavity which receives a plurality of individual food containers. The containers have lips which extend outwardly from their open top and support elements, which extend across the cavity, and are arranged such that adjacent support elements contact the lips on opposed sides of the container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is common to place cases for displaying bulk snack food products, such as smoked meat products, on the checkout counter of convenience stores and supermarkets. Typically, these cases display multiple varieties of food products in a manner which separates them from one another. Customers then open the display case to remove the items they want to purchase. One way of separating multiple food items in a single display case is to mold several individual open top compartments into the display case. Because the food is dispensed in bulk, the merchant must refill the display case as it becomes empty. It is common when doing this to place additional stock on top of what is already in the display case as the existing stock becomes depleted. If this occurs repeatedly, the original stock eventually becomes stale.

Applicants assignee overcame the freshness problem by selling the food products to the merchants in sealed containers which are sized to fit into the compartments in the display cases. As the stock in a container gets low, the merchant removes the existing container and replaces it with a new full container and then adds the stock in the removed container into the top of the new container. However, these display cases are typically provided to the merchant by the manufacturer of the food products that are to be sold out of them with the understanding that the display cases will be used only to sell product from that manufacturer. The snack food industry is highly competitive and merchants often later decide to the use the display case to sell product from another manufacturer. Even though other manufacturers may not provide product in properly sized containers, the product can be purchased in bulk from other manufacturers and deposited directly into the individual compartments in the container.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The subject invention provides a bulk food display case which has a single unitary cavity located in it. Food product which is displayed in the display case is provided in individual open topped containers having removable covers. The container has an outwardly extending flange which extends around its periphery adjacent its open top. The container is supported in the cavity at least partially by support elements which extend across the open top of the display case. The support elements are spaced apart from one another such that adjacent support elements contact the flange on opposed sides of the container. Because the display case has a single cavity, multiple food items cannot be displayed in it without becoming mixed unless they are provided in properly sized containers.

The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display case embodying the subject invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the display case of FIG. 1 showing how food containers are inserted.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 with the food containers removed.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the subject invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 with the food containers removed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now the drawings, a case 10 has a single unitary cavity 12 located in it. In the embodiment illustrated, the cavity 12 covers almost the entire extent of the case, leaving only a narrow ledge 14 at the sides and front of the case near its open top. The ledge 14 serves as a seat for a lid 16 which cover the cavity. A narrow inwardly projecting lip 17 extends around the periphery of the cavity slightly below the ledge 14. The case illustrated is made as a single molded plastic shell. While the case can have other shapes, and be constructed in another manner, as will be more fully explained below, it must be configured in a manner that permits multiple food filled containers 18 to be supported in the cavity, and yet the case itself is not divided into multiple compartments each of which could hold a separate food product, without the different food products becoming mixed.

In the embodiment illustrated, the containers 18 are open topped shells 20 having opposed side walls 22 and end walls 24 which slope inwardly toward one another as they extend downwardly to a planar bottom 26. The containers have a flange 28 which projects outwardly from the top of the walls 22, 24. The containers are provided to merchants who utilize the display system filled with food and the top covered by a removable cover 30, which preferably is transparent. The cover preferably is made from a thin thermoplastic material and is heat sealed to the flange 28. The containers are sized such that when they are placed into the cavity, the flange 28 partially overlaps the lip 17 in the case 10 such that the lip 17 supports at least one side or one end of each container when it is placed into the case. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 there are three containers. With two of the containers the flange 28 is supported by the lip 17 on one side and both ends of the container. With the other container, the flange 28 is supported by the lip 17 only on the ends of the container. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, there are four containers. The flange of the additional container is supported by the lip on both ends of the container. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, there are four containers also. With two of the containers, the flange 28 is supported by the lip 17 on one side and both ends of the container. With the third container the flange 28 is only supported by the lip 17 on the ends of the container. With the fourth container, the flange 28 is supported by the lip on both ends and one side of the container. In this embodiment, the fourth container is oriented perpendicular to the other three containers. On all of the embodiments, the portions of the flange not supported by the lip are supported by elongate support elements 32 which extend across the cavity.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the support elements are metal rods which are circular in cross-section, but they could have other cross-sectional shapes or be constructed from other materials. The rods are fixed to the case by gluing them in notches 34 located in the lip 17, but they could be attached by other means, or could be molded integrally with the case. The support elements 32 preferably are spaced apart from one another with the distance between adjacent support elements being slightly less than the width of the containers immediately below the flange 28. Thus, containers 18 can easily be placed into the cavity between adjacent support elements. The flange 28 preferably extends outwardly from the container walls 22, 24 by an amount that is slightly greater than the width of the support members. As a result, when a container is placed between adjacent support members, it will be supported by the support members. While this results in a slight overlap of the lips of adjacent containers, the containers are still easily placed into and removed from the case, FIG. 3. Likewise, the depth of the cavity 12 is slightly less than the length of the containers and the width of the lip 17 is slightly less than the flange 28. As a result, regardless of how the case is configured, the container can easily be inserted into the cavity.

Because the case 10 has a single unitary cavity 12, bulk foods cannot be displayed in the case other than by first placing the food in appropriately configured containers 18. As a result, a merchant cannot use a display case provided by one bulk food manufacturer to display multiple types of food from another manufacturer simply by placing the food directly into the case, without the various foods becoming mixed.

A lid 16 is attached to the case by means of a hinge 38, which allows the lid to be moved between a closed position where it covers the cavity 12 and an open position where food can be placed into and removed from the case. As mentioned above, the lid sits against the seat 16 when in its closed position. A gasket 40 extends around the periphery of the lid to create a relatively airtight seal between the lid and the ledge 14 when the lid is closed, thereby maintaining the freshness of the food located in the case. The lid preferably is made from a transparent material, such as Plexiglas, so that the food in the case can be seen when the lid is closed.

A resiliently deformable stop 50 located on the case behind the hinge 38 engages the lid 36 when it is moved to its open position to prevent the lid from opening past a predetermined amount. Also acts as a self closing device.

A slidable tray 42 is movable along a track 46 through an opening 44 in one side wall of the case. Sacks 48 for carrying food selected from the display case are placed in the tray.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow. 

1. A system for displaying bulk food products, comprising: (a) a case having a single, unitary cavity defined therein; (b) a plurality of individual food containers containing bulk food products and having open top portions covered by removable covers which seal said open top portions; (c) said containers having a flange which extends outwardly at least partially around its periphery adjacent said top portions; (d) support elements which extend across said cavity at spaced apart intervals which allow adjacent support elements to contact at least a portion of said flange of a container placed into said cavity without said support element substantially extending into said cavity or extending outwardly substantially beyond said flange;
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein said support elements are cylindrical rods.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein said case has a lip which extends at least partially around the periphery of said cavity, said lip capable of supporting at least a portion of said flange of a container placed in said cavity.
 4. The system of claim 1 wherein said container has a lid which is attached to said container by a hinge which allows said lid to be moved between a closed position where it covers said cavity and an open position where there is access to containers placed in said cavity.
 5. The system of claim 4 including a stop which is attached to said container and limits movement of said lid past the predetermined position.
 6. The system of claim 5 wherein said stop is resiliently deformable.
 7. A system for displaying bulk food products, comprising: (a) a case having a single, unitary cavity defined therein which opens out of a top portion of said case; and (b) a plurality of spaced apart cylindrical rods which extend across said cavity proximate said top portion.
 8. A system for displaying bulk food products, comprising: (a) a case having a single, unitary cavity defined therein; (b) a plurality of individual food containers containing bulk food products having open top portions and removable covers which seal said open top portions; (c) said containers having an outwardly extending flange which extends at least partially around the periphery of said containers; and (d) a plurality of cylindrical rods which extend across said open top portion of said case, said rods being separated from one another by a distance which allows adjacent rods to contact the flange on opposed sides of a container placed in said cavity between said adjacent rods.
 9. A system for displaying bulk food products, comprising: (a) a case having a single, unitary cavity defined therein; (b) a plurality of individual food containers containing bulk food products having open top portions and removable covers which seal said open top portions; (c) said containers having an outwardly extending flange which extends at least partially around the periphery of said containers; and (d) a plurality of cylindrical rods which extend across said open top portion of said case, said rods being separated from one another by a distance which allows adjacent rods to contact the flange on opposed ends of a container placed in said cavity.
 10. A system for displaying bulk food products, comprising: (a) a case having a single, unitary cavity defined therein; (b) a plurality of individual food containers containing bulk food products having open top portions and removable covers which seal said open top portions; (c) said containers having an outwardly extending flange which extends at least partially around the periphery of said containers; and (d) a plurality of cylindrical rods which extend across said open top portion of said case, said rods being separated from one another by a distance which allows adjacent rods to contact said flange on at least one side and one edge of a container placed in said cavity.
 11. A case for displaying bulk foods, comprising: (a) a single, unitary cavity; and (b) said cavity configured to permit multiple food filled containers to be supported therein without said cavity being divided into multiple compartments. 